


A Pint and Eggs

by ladygray99



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, M/M, Male Friendship, Rugby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-01
Updated: 2011-11-01
Packaged: 2017-10-25 14:50:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/271514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladygray99/pseuds/ladygray99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys just has plans to have a pint and watch the game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Pint and Eggs

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for the Rugby World Cup Ireland v. Wales match and the first 3 seasons.
> 
> I’m very, very rusty writing for Torchwood but I couldn’t let this last game go by without a bit of fic. As for the timeline let’s just say that we’re in a happy place between crises and Gwen and Rhys are back in Cardiff where Rhys can pop down to the pub to watch a match.

  
Rhys sipped at his pint. Normally Gwen would kill him for drinking at six in the morning but the fact was that you couldn’t watch a match without a pint, and if the match was on the other side of the planet it wasn’t exactly his fault. And it wasn’t like he was the only one. The pub was filled with men taking in that fine traditional breakfast of ale and eggs.

Someone sat down next to Rhys. He figured it was one of his mates and turned to say hello. The greeting froze in his throat. He blinked a few times to make sure he was actually seeing what he was seeing. What he was seeing was Jack Bloody Harkness in a Welsh rugby jersey that looked to be about a century removed from the current strip.

“What are you doing here?” Rhys hissed.

“I’m here for the game and good morning to you too.” Jack waved towards the bar for a pint.

“Since when do you watch rugby?” Rhys was sure it had to be some sort of setup and that aliens or something were about to crash through the doors of the pub.

Jack pulled at his jersey a bit. “How long have I lived in Cardiff? Of course I’ve been to a test or 50.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Why wouldn’t I love about a game that has 30 fit men in tight clothes crashing into each other for 80 minutes?” Jack’s pint arrived.

Rhys rolled his eyes. “You know what, forget I asked.”

Jack took a sip of his pint before the whole pub stood. Jack joined in the proud if not always perfectly in tune singing of _Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau_. A scant two minutes later Rhys, Jack, and the rest of the pub were on their feet again as Shane Williams threw himself over the try line. That was about the same time Rhys forgot that he was watching a World Cup match standing next to Jack Bloody Harkness and just got engrossed in the game.

As the half-time ads came on there was a rush to the bar to refresh pints. Rhys looked back over to Jack who was looking a bit pensive. “What’s with the look? You pulling for Ireland or something?”

Jack laughed. “No. Just thinking about Ianto. He was going to be there.” Jack nodded towards the screen. “He put in for the leave time years in advance.”

Rhys suddenly felt a little bad for asking. He’d only met Ianto a few times but he always seemed like a stand up bloke who didn’t deserve to go the way he did.

“He was going to save up and fly first class.” Jack continued. “Get the best seats he could for every game. I was even going to loan him this jersey.”

“I looked into it myself but Gwen said we couldn’t afford it what with everything.”

“Maybe the next one.” Jack was still nursing his first pint. “You know I was in Brisbane in ’87. Was down there casing up a report of a Sea Devil colony. Turned out to be nothing but popped in for the game. Wow.”

For possibly the first time Rhys was jealous of Jack’s infinite lives. “That must have been a cracker of a match.”

“Unforgettable.” Jack looked down at his jersey again and gave a sad smile. “Red always was Ianto’s colour.”

Rhys stood feeling a little awkward again. “I’m getting a pint. Want a fresh one?”

Jack’s grin slipped back into place. “Sure. And I won’t tell Gwen you’re buying me drinks.” Jack gave a little wink.

Rhys just rolled his eyes again and went to grab a couple of pints before the game started back up.

Almost as soon as the players hit the field Rhys forgot who he was standing next to. Jack was just another bloke in red, sitting in the pub at six in the morning, shouting at the tele, while a group of their fellow Welshman trampled over the Ireland side on the other side of the planet.

At 80 minutes the whistle blew and the commentators repeated what everyone already knew, that Wales was going to the semi-finals for only the second time ever. Rhys threw his arms around the nearest bloke which happened to be Jack.

“ _Lllongyfarchiadau_ ,” Jack shouted over the other cheers.

“Since when to you speak the language?” Rhys shouted back.

Jack smiled. “How long have I lived in Cardiff?”

**Author's Note:**

> FULL TIME: Ireland 10-22 Wales. It was a cracker of a game. Worth a watch even if you know how it’s going to end. Wales hasn’t been to a World Cup semi-final since 1987 and you can’t convince me that Jack could spend that much time in Wales without picking up a bit of the language and at least a passing knowledge of Rugby.


End file.
